86 



\Ri'.( )k I rri/rr Ri- 



ot' intelligent laws upon the suhjcci. have 

 removed the magnificent forests. K-aving 

 tiiem hare of vegetation, and tlu- soil stxin 

 washed away has left the primitive rocks, 

 upon which never more will anythii.g 

 grow . They are valueless to the Nation, 

 the state or the individual, a harnn 

 waste. The great Rocky Mounlain re- 

 gion where less thati fifty years ago 

 there were splendid forests, \m>\\ not a 

 hinulredth part of the trees remain, 

 criminal carelessness, wanton wasteful- 

 ness, forest fires without state or .Na- 

 tional protection, and s|K)liation. ]ia\e re- 

 duced these forests and threaten their 

 speedy exteriuination. 



How long will America continue to 

 feed the world from her nnu inexhausti- 

 ble granaries, after her forests are de- 

 stroyed and climatic changes such as 

 have devastated the lands of the OrieiU. 

 shall have completed their work in the 

 Occident ? 



The world has had distinguished j)hil- 

 osophers wiiose names will be chroni- 

 cled with high honor .so long as his- 

 tory and civilization exist, who atlopted 

 theories and evolved hy])otheses. based 

 upon the knowledge possessed during 

 their age of the w^orld, which in the light 

 of later discoveries have proven false, 

 and in many cases ridiculous. Notably 

 before the laws of gravitation were 

 known, and while the earth was vet flat, 

 and rested upon impossible animals. Yet 

 they were quite as firm in their belief as 

 some of our present philosophers, who, 

 because they canncrt understand, assert 

 that forests have no efifcct upon climate. 

 Yet forest masses do concentrate mois- 

 ture already in the atmosphere and cause 

 its precipitation upon the earth. 



An illustration of forest influence upon 

 cloud distribution is found in the Dan- 

 ish Island of St. Croix, one of the lesser 

 Antilles, which group of islands form a 

 regular crescent from Puerto Rico south- 

 ward to Venezuela, and all are w'ooded 

 except St. Croix, from which the forests 

 have been removed. IMu's island lies 

 twenty miles south of St. Thomas, and 

 without the regidar crescent of the 

 group. The clouds follow the trend of 

 the forest-covered islands and rains are 

 frequent, but St. Croix suffers severel\ 



from drought. a> the clouds are attracted 

 t-om it — yi't in this tropic region the 

 e\aporation from the Carribbean Sea is 

 \ery great, fully as much at ."^l. Croix 

 as at St. Thomas, but twmy miles away. 



li. is also well known lo farmer> that 

 summer showers so necessary for agri- 

 cultm-al prospi-rit}' follow tin- course of 

 timber margined streams. 



in the ( )rient, so long a> the forests re- 

 mained upon the higher elevations, the 

 rain belt extended inland more than one 

 Innidred miles, but as the m<iuntains 

 were cleared of their trees, the desert en- 

 croached u])on the fertile lands, graduallv 

 l)iU sin-ely. until all the land become arid. 



-So the rainless plains of the I'nited 

 Slates have ol)triide(l their ariditv hv slow 

 ilegrees. as extensive forests were de- 

 stroyed b\- fires. b\- ice and by man. until 

 the Pacific has been reached throughoui 

 the greater i)art of California. 



The logical conclusion must be that 

 forest covered elevations controlled the 

 distribution of moisture through the at- 

 mosphere and abundant rains prevailed ; 

 but with the reiuoval of these bodies of 

 limber their influence was lost and arid- 

 ity was the consequence. 



i:i)IT()RL\L NuTiCi:. 



W ith the fourth number of Arrori- 

 cuLTL'Ri-: we close the year 1902. With 

 the beginning of the new year we hope 

 to have additional interest and shall en- 

 deavor to present the various subjects 

 demanding attention in a candid maimer, 

 give the best illustrations obtainable, and 

 earnestly strive to stimulate a greater re- 

 side t for the forests and for trees in gen- 

 eral. 



We have promise of several good ar- 

 ticles from eminent writers during the 

 year. We have sent out many sam])le 

 copies to those whom we are assured have 

 an iiUtrest in arboriculture, and we ho|ic 

 our friends who have received the maga- 

 zine will now becoiuo permanent sub- 

 scribers, <itherwise their names will be 

 dropped. Paynient nia\ be made at any 

 titue during the year i^oi,. 



'["lu- subscription is .S2 per ainnun. 

 which should be sent to b)hn 1'. Brown. 

 .\o. 1639 Michigan avenue. Chicago. 111. 



